One of the major advantages of free software is that the community protects users from malicious software. Now Ubuntu GNU/Linux has become a counterexample.
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ubuntu-spyware-what-to-do

How about puppy & other linux distros?
How can we know as a user which one contain spyware or not?

We could do google search to see of people that are good at programming
has any suggestion maybe? I will try to do some googling tomorrow
and if I forget about it do remind me._________________I use Google Search on Puppy Forum
not an ideal solution though

Ubuntu, a widely used and influential GNU/Linux distribution, has installed surveillance code. When the user searches her own local files for a string using the Ubuntu desktop, Ubuntu sends that string to one of Canonical's servers. (Canonical is the company that develops Ubuntu.)

This is just like the first surveillance practice I learned about in Windows. My late friend Fravia told me that when he searched for a string in the files of his Windows system, it sent a packet to some server, which was detected by his firewall. Given that first example I paid attention and learned about the propensity of "reputable" proprietary software to be malware. Perhaps it is no coincidence that Ubuntu sends the same information.

Ubuntu uses the information about searches to show the user ads to buy various things from Amazon. Amazon commits many wrongs (see http://stallman.org/amazon.html); by promoting Amazon, Canonical contributes to them. However, the ads are not the core of the problem. The main issue is the spying. Canonical says it does not tell Amazon who searched for what. However, it is just as bad for Canonical to collect your personal information as it would have been for Amazon to collect it.

I have a very poor memory but I do recognize this
and it maybe is many months ago but did we not discuss it here?
on Puppy forum?

Or was that on some other forum. I am active on too many sorry.

So what to do?
Does Lupu Puppy by accident have this in it without the devs knowing about it?_________________I use Google Search on Puppy Forum
not an ideal solution though

Maybe tlchost tease you or he is dead serious.
I guess we can ask him to let us move into his home
that has to be a safe place indeed.

No one is invited to move in....THe building is infested with proprietary software and applications designed to operate on the Dark Side.

Quote:

We could do google search to see of people that are good at programming
has any suggestion maybe? I will try to do some googling tomorrow
and if I forget about it do remind me.

It would seem to me that if the spyware is found to be objectionable, one could always simply not use the OS that has it. It may be hard to believe, but the market force of a large number of folks refusing to use an OS because of the built-in spyware might cause the developers to abandon the plan.

Conversely, some enterprising person might prove/certifiy that their OS was spyware free, and thus gain converts from the evil OS that spys on them.

Should I trust that every Ubuntu variant have it like
Netrunner and Linux Mint and what have you?

I have no idea...I think what we're seeing here is commercialism creeping into the sacred halls of "Free" software. It hyad to happen, sooner or later.

I think the most effective way to combat this type of thing is simply not using an OS that offends you. You could also add fuel to the fire by making public statements on why you don't use it. Public statements in a forum such as this one may not do much good, as it may be akin to "preaching to the choir".

Years ago one very large retailer redesigned their site in such a way that only Internet Explorer would work. My immediate reaction was to call the corporate office, cancel my account and tell them why. Next I got some other folks who were offended by the redesign to complain.

I even took the pains to document what per centage of the computer community did not use IE....and suggested to the company that it made no business sense to alienate a significant number of present and future customers.

The company redesigned their site to be less browser specific.

My point is complaining does little....one needs to jab needles into what folks value...their income, reputation, egos to affect real change.

How far can/should it be taken? Boycott Ubuntu...sure....boycott things that use Ubuntu as a base...sure.

I'll leave it up to others to ponder boycotting puppies that are based on Ubuntu

One of the major advantages of free software is that the community protects users from malicious software. Now Ubuntu GNU/Linux has become a counterexample.
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ubuntu-spyware-what-to-do

How about puppy & other linux distros?
How can we know as a user which one contain spyware or not?

You can figure this out on your own if you've got some skill. Install a packet sniffer like wireshark on your system... turn it on, and then just mess around on your system and see if anything calls out to the internet. if when you do desktop searches you see outgoing data.. then you can track down where its going.

Thanks for all comment.
I am not familiar with wireshark and will try it.
I think firewall with in-outgoing support should help.
Is out there a firewall with in- outgoing support that by default block all ports?
Just open the port(s) what we need only.

I know this sounds over-simplistic, but the easy answer is to ditch Ubuntu. Debian is way better than it used to be. It even comes with support for mp3s and common codecs out of the box now, and it comes with GNOME Shell and lots of plugins. Ubuntu isn't that much easier to install anymore.

For realz.

._________________Well my daddy left home when I was three, didn't leave much for mom and me
Just 512 MB of RAM, and an empty bottle of booze

One of the major advantages of free software is that the community protects users from malicious software. Now Ubuntu GNU/Linux has become a counterexample.
http://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/ubuntu-spyware-what-to-do

How about puppy & other linux distros?
How can we know as a user which one contain spyware or not?

Maybe as shown here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Linux_Distribution_Timeline.svg
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And on the Ubuntu Spyware issue... I have been to several sites and forums on this and 'NO ONE' can give a straight 'YES or NO' that their program made from Ubuntu binaries is infected. I did find that Ubuntu has been a major contributor to development of the Linux Kernel for quiet awhile now... they have some excellent programmers... who knows?

You can believe whatever you want but as I've always said 'There is No Computer Security... Period.'

I don't know if it has anything to do with spyware, but my lupu 5.25 retro has been acting up lately: freezing outright or rebooting for no apparent reason, or some program (ROX, for ex.) refusing to work while all others are running ok.

I was forced to go back to dpup 4.85 temporarily, and I have had NO problem whatsoever with dpup.

Maybe I should install wireshark in lupu, as suggested above.

Or can it simply be that my lupu_save is corrupted at the byte level? (But I use fsck.)

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